Processing roughages for wintering steer calves

LOW QUALITY ROUGHAGES which have J limited alternate uses are important sources of feed for wintering young cattle. These feeds are characteristically low in digestible energy and protein, are high in fiber, and their intake by cattle is low. Previous experiments at Davis have shown that cubed rice straw, with appropriate supplementation, may be fed as a wintering ration for cattle with resultant body-weight gains of 0.5 to 0.8 lb per head per day. However, to obtain these gains from a low quality roughage, high feed intakes are necessary. The low intake of digestible energy is the main limitation in the use of poor quality roughages. Any method of feed processing which will increase feed intake will enhance the potential value of low quality roughages.